Iraqi Prime Minister has formally declared victory of the country's forces over the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group in Mosul one day after the country's army and Popular Mobilization Forces took full control of the key city.
In a statement a formal statement aired by the state television on Monday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, "I announce from here the end and the failure and the collapse of the terrorist state of falsehood and terrorism, which the terrorist ISIS announced from Mosul." He added that, "It was due to the Iraqi nation's united front and sacrifice that we are now celebrating the victory over ISIS. This is the victory over darkness and terrorism."
Asserting that the Iraqi nation is now more united than ever, the Iraqi premier noted, "I hereby pay homage to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and his historic fatwa, calling on all Iraqi citizens to defend their country. I also pay tribute to all Iraqi fighters and soldiers, who played a role in this battle and the families of the martyrs."
Abadi emphasized that the Iraqi soldiers were the sole force on the ground and there were no foreigners involved in liberation of Mosul.
"Now, we bear a heavy responsibility on our shoulders to purge the liberated areas from the last remnants of ISIS and return displaced people to their homes. Iraqis must be rightly proud of this achievement as it was planned and fully implemented by them," ISIS pointed out.
Abadi's statement came after Iraqi forces mopped up the last pockets of Daesh resistance in Mosul's Old City, where the Takfiri terrorists were surrounded in a sliver of territory about 200 by 100 meters.
The recapture of Mosul marks the biggest blow to the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group since it declared its so-called caliphate three years ago.
Abadi arrived in Mosul a day earlier to congratulate Iraq's military commanders following nearly nine months of incessant battle to take back the country's second biggest city from ISIS terrorists.
The long-awaited victory in Mosul ends an eight-month campaign by Iraqi Army backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), commonly known in Arabic as Hashd al-Sha'abi.
The spokesman for PMU Karim al-Nouri recently rejected claims that the US had a role in Mosul's liberation saying that, "Washington wants to have a share in the final victory announcement against ISIS and benefit from it, but I have to emphasize that this victory was won by the Iraqi people and the United States did not play any role in it."
He added that the, the US-led coalition, which has been bombing Iraq and Syria for the past couple of years, is not serious about fighting ISIS.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/7487
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